Immigration vote could happen next week

Moderate Republicans said they would abandon their drive to force a vote on an immigration bill as GOP House leadership promised to address their concerns. The office of Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Tuesday the House would debate and vote on two immigration bills as soon as next week. One would likely offer a path to citizenship for immigrants illegally brought to the country as children, while the other would grant them obtain legal status but not citizenship.

Before the compromise was announced, moderates were trying to pass a discharge petition to pull their preferred immigration bill out of committee. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., a leader of the petition drive, praised his group for bringing the issue to the forefront. “Our goal has always been to force the House to debate and consider meaningful immigration reform, and today we’re one step closer,” Curbelo said. The agreement spares the GOP from the political embarrassment of having a faction of moderates align with Democrats to pass a discharge petition.